Toys
by flying metal child
Summary: Now a collection of oneshots of the varied sort. Toys make us happy, complete us, distract us, and serve as substitutes for the things we really need but sometimes don't want.
1. Toys

AN: I don't know what this is, but I like it…lots of ooc, devoid-ness of emotions, loneliness, and angst things. Type "clicker clacker" into Google images and you should see what the toy is. I once had a toy similar to this; truly it was the most annoying thing ever invented (along with those weird hard to use clackers with the balls on the end, never could get my coordination right). Please enjoy.

--

"Toys"

by flying metal child

--

Click, click, click.

Click.

Click.

Click, click.

Click-click-click-click-click-click...

Rikuo was going to—

Click!

"Kazahaya!" Kazahaya looked up very innocently at the boy who had just yelled out his name. He made a small smile as if nothing important was happening. Rikuo sighed to let out the frustration of hearing "click" over and over and over.

Kazahaya replied with, "What?" Rikuo rolled his eyes.

"That thing is annoying. Cut it out."

"Wha—it's not annoying! It's my clicker-clacker!" Kazahaya watched the fine muscles around Rikuo's dark eyes twitch.

"Clicker-clacker?"

"Yeah, that's what the lady called it. Isn't it neat?"

The so-called "neat" thing in question, the clicker-clacker, was nothing more than a little alligator shaped metal toy that could be whipped up and down to make its cute hinged mouth open and close. It smacked its lips with a "click" then a "clack." It spoke with a "click-clack-click." Kazahaya loved the sound. Rikuo thought it was loud and grating; it was the sound of thin metal popping and banging rapidly at the whim of Kazahaya's hand.

The stupid toy might have remained in the novelty shop had Kakei made them work an extra shift, but it was a fine Saturday in May so he let them off. Neither of them had taken a day off in at least a month, and Saiga became the victim as a last minute cashier replacement.

Kazahaya honestly thought his clicker-clacker was the best thing ever.

"This is the best thing ever!" he had said, actually.

Thus, being the best thing ever, Kazahaya had click-clacked his heart out for the entire twenty minute walk from the market district back to the drugstore. In between was a quick visit to a café and some fleeting moments in the nearby park. Kazahaya managed to click-clack his toy as he swung his swing high into the air. Rikuo watched him dully as he listened to the click-clack noise caught in the rushing wind of the swing. When the noise was lost in the air, Rikuo focused on Kazahaya going up and down, happily letting gravity have him for a little while. His dark-gold hair glittered in the just-setting sun. Rikuo turned away then and pushed himself up by digging his shoes into the gravel. He pivoted his feet in the little stones; he never left the ground.

He heard the click-clack again. He never told Kazahaya to stop. And now that their outing was at an end, Rikuo wondered why he had waited so long to say it. Kazahaya ignored Rikuo's order to stop. He occasionally clicked the alligator up and down as if his hand were so accustomed to the movement that he was doing it unconsciously. Rikuo clenched his fist to keep his hand from grabbing the monstrosity and chucking it into the street where hopefully, God willing, a car would run over it.

But, he wouldn't do that. Not to Kazahaya. He seemed so enamored by the toy that Rikuo had to wonder if Kazahaya had ever owned a toy in his entire life. After all, one could imagine such a thing from a person who had no idea what uncooked rice looked like. Rikuo knew that Kazahaya had lived a very sheltered life with his sister Kei. Perhaps the dream-like world they once lived in only had room for the two of them.

It was them and the still unknown pain that forced them apart.

Rikuo doubted Kazahaya thought any of this, for had the most pleasant smile on his pretty face. Any thoughts he had stayed in his mind. On a normal day, Rikuo would be the victim of random stories and questions, but today, Kazahaya's mouth was satisfied being shut.

It suited him well.

Rikuo caught himself tracing the soft curves of Kazahaya's lips with his eyes. He huffed in annoyance. Kazahaya was clacking again.

--

The toy alligator sat on the kitchen table and watched Rikuo and Kazahaya eat dinner. Kazahaya stretched after he finished his meal and announced that he was taking a shower. The alligator watched his friend leave. He was lonely. Rikuo looked at him angrily as he chewed the last bit of food in his mouth.

"I really hate you," Rikuo told him.

--

When Kazahaya got out of the shower, he went to his bedside dresser to grab a pair of socks. There on his pillow was his toy. Perched like a faithful pet, he waited for Kazahaya to return and put life into his inanimate body. He existed for Kazahaya.

"Hey," Kazahaya whispered. He held the toy in his hand. "How did you get here?"

"It was staring at me." Kazahaya turned at the dark voice behind him.

"It's just a toy, Rikuo." Kazahaya gave the toy a quick click as he sat on his bed. Rikuo looked down, not really knowing why he was standing there. Kazahaya squinted his eyes questioningly, waiting for Rikuo to—

His legs suddenly gave way, his lips connected with Kazahaya's in a crushing kiss. Kazahaya's mouth parted and let in a hot tongue. His fingers failed him and the toy in his hand slipped and fell to the floor with a soft thud. Rikuo held Kazahaya's face up, trapped his cheeks between his fingers, raped the little mouth before it could say yes or no or maybe, but then it was too late; Rikuo realized what he had done. He slipped his tongue back into his mouth but kept their lips connected.

Kazahaya swallowed thickly. His face was hot with embarrassment.

The sweet taste in Rikuo's mouth became bitter and he pulled away. He sucked in some air to get his brain working again, but it was futile and stupid and he found himself walking away without saying a word to his friend.

His friend.

Kazahaya never closed his mouth. He stood; one foot connected with the floor and the other landed on his toy. The hinged mouth crushed.

"Oh," was all Kazahaya could say. He picked up the toy and fumbled with its dead metal body.

His poor alligator, his poor, poor little toy.

--

It was a rare day when absolute silence filled the store. Maybe it didn't count because it was ten at night and Rikuo was alone. He gripped the wooden handle of the broom in his hand. He turned his ear to the smallest of sounds. The hum of electricity, cars passing outside, and the occasional creak of the building's foundation as it settled into a slow, slow decay.

The silence was too heavy. He started sweeping again.

Swish. Swish. Swish. He had complete control over this noise. Swish. Swish. Swish.

He stopped. Silence again, and then the sound of the broom scraping against the floor.

"Rikuo?" The broom almost flew out of his hand.

"It's—we didn't have to work today. Why are you sweeping? It's late."

Rikuo shrugged. "I wanted to get out of the apartment." _I wanted to get away from you._

"Oh." Kazahaya wanted to leave but his feet wouldn't move. "I didn't know where you were. You should tell me if you're going to disappear like that."

Rikuo's voice sounded harsher than he meant. "Yeah, sorry." _Sorry, I had to get away from you._

"I broke my toy. I stepped on it." Kazahaya laughed a small laugh. The sound of his own sarcastic laugh released his feet from the floor.

"I'm going back okay?"

"Yeah...I'll be right there."

--

Kazahaya was asleep. Rikuo had been asleep.

Kazahaya never said anything about the kiss.

It kept Rikuo awake for hours.

The broken alligator judged him. It was on the kitchen table. Rikuo studied it.

"I was just getting some water," he told it. "It's not my fault anyway."

* * *

end. 


	2. Violin

AN: I have been _terribly_ distracted by this for weeks. Really a warning? Okay, barely-there-noncon (if there such a thing).

--

"Violin"

by flying metal child

--

A beautiful woman, this violin, cradled in red velvet and a cherry box. He had never held such a thing in his entire life, and when he touched it, his hands slipped easily over the smoothness of the highly polished wood and over every sensuous curve of its body.

"Do you like it, Kudo-kun?" Kazahaya smiled as he continued to inspect the instrument.

"Ah. It's very pretty."

"Just don't drop it," Rikuo teased as he poked around the insides of the violin case. Kazahaya stuck his tongue out at Rikuo. No, he wasn't going to drop it. This thing was too precious to someone.

"Now Kudo, we need you to do what you do best." Kakei smiled and indicated the violin in Kazahaya's hands. Instructions really weren't necessary. What else was there to do but seek out a vision in the grains of the wood, but exactly what he saw would be up to the violin. Sometimes the object _knew_ what needed to be seen, sometimes things were lost in its molecular structure. Only then did the vision need to be coaxed out. This was a very rare vision for Kazahaya since most of the visions usually came to him without hesitation.

Yet this time Kazahaya knew the vision would come easily. He already felt himself slipping into the warmth of the images. It felt like falling asleep. Hazy at first, then like a dream, the vision unfolded before him and played out whatever way it wanted. When it was too late to pull back, and pulling back was very hard to do, Kazahaya found himself in a dark place. Senseless and numb, he watched half-lidded as his body reacted to the violin's wishes.

_Play me._

_Use me._

He would have heard sound, but he was deaf while his audience was afforded the luxury of his music-making. And sitting with such rapt attention, Kazahaya could see Rikuo sitting on the edge of the sofa in Kakei's office. It pleased him to think that Rikuo was watching him do something so skillfully when he lacked the natural dexterity of a musician. Kazahaya knew he must make a strange picture to his friends, but the woman in the room with them, late forties, pretty and tall, paid no attention to the fact that the boy holding her late father's violin had no previous experience with music.

For all she knew, the boy was straight from Juilliard, but all she cared to acquire from this moment were the notes of the dead man's last great sonata. There was a digital recorder on the coffee table. The little piece of technology was the best money could buy yet this woman was still writing the notes by hand on a yellow memo pad! How her hand kept up with the swirling sounds coming from the violin was amazing to Rikuo.

He tried not to watch her pen out of the corner of his eye as he listened to the sonata Kazahaya played. His usually goofy roommate looked so composed as he pulled the bow back and forth, and then with his other hand, the strings were pressed down with fingers slick with sweat. Rikuo could see the perspiration on Kazahaya's brow, see the throb of a hard pulse in his neck. His fingers were dead white in a trance-induced grip. Rikuo didn't know this music, didn't understand the intricacies of classical song. The poetry of it was beautiful, but unlike a story, he was unsure when the song was coming to a climax and an end.

Rikuo felt something in him stir as he watched Kazahaya lost in his own mind. Why was the boy so beautiful when he was helpless? Why did his power make him so weak afterwards? Rikuo knew that he would be the one to carry Kazahaya to his bed when this was over. He felt as if he had carried him a thousand times, yet the weight was never lighter.

As if sensing his thoughts, the song came to an abrupt end. Kakei was at his side already to take the priceless violin from Kazahaya's hands. Saiga was on the other side as he gently laid Kazahaya back on the couch. Rikuo watched them all coolly, his gaze mostly concentrated on Kazahaya's face.

The woman paid no attention to any of this. She gathered up her notes like they were written on money. The simple white pages were laid gently in a briefcase, along with the recorder which she first played back briefly to ascertain the quality of the sound. Her grin indicated her satisfaction.

"Very nice. Very nice, indeed." She shut her briefcase with a slam and stood. Rikuo didn't like her at all. She was the domineering, stuffy kind of businesswoman type. He doubted she had any care for music at all, so he wondered why she wanted her dead father's music. When she came in several weeks earlier, she had seemed so distraught over her father's sudden death while writing what would be his last piece. Oh, she had heard the composition a few times, and though she was a musician, she did not have the ear to hear a piece and memorize it completely.

Her father, the fool, never wrote the notes of a composition until it was finished in his head.

And this sonata, ah, it was so complex and sweet to the soul! This boy played it beautifully. Whatever powers he had brought out the sound and magnified it ten times over. Not even her father had played his own work so well, which was probably due to the nearly crippling arthritis in his joints.

Rikuo was glad when the woman left with a slight bow. How such people found out about their special work was a mystery to Rikuo. Why Kakei had let her watch puzzled him as well.

"She left the violin," Rikuo noted. Kakei smiled slightly and handed the abandoned beauty to Saiga.

"Her payment," he said simply.

Rikuo snorted as he gathered Kazahaya in his arms. "Seems like a waste for a stupid song."

--

Rikuo was sure Kakei knew something he didn't. He always knew something.

The violin _was_ probably worthless compared to the sonata. Maybe the notes were magical? Rikuo had seen stranger things in his employment...things like Kazahaya, who remained unconscious much longer than he usually did. He slept through the night without moving at all. Rikuo watched him nervously. By dawn, Rikuo knew something was wrong despite the fact that Kazahaya felt warm and his breathing was even.

Had the violin's vision been that strong? Rikuo hesitated when he picked up his cell. He only had to press the emergency button to get Kakei's ass to the apartment...

Kazahaya moaned and opened his eyes. He searched the room and saw a fuzzy Rikuo standing nearby.

"Kazahaya. Are you alright?" Rikuo pocketed his cell.

"Mmm." Kazahaya shook his head free from the palm on his forehead. "What...alright?"

"You've been asleep for a long time. I was about to call Kakei." Kazahaya sat up slowly and winced.

"Ow," he mumbled as he squinted his eyes. The early morning light hit his eyes directly, exacerbating his sudden headache. "It feels like I've been whacked over the head." Rikuo smirked and sat next to him on the bed.

"Maybe it's just a flashback from when you were dropped on your head as a baby." Kazahaya leaned away to look at Rikuo fully.

"How long have you been waiting to use the whole 'dropped-on-your-head' line?"

"Since forever." Kazahaya mumbled that he was thirsty and made for the kitchen. Rikuo followed behind wanting something himself.

"So...what did I do?" Kazahaya said after a small sip of water.

"Just played some music. That woman recorded it."

"Oh." Rikuo sensed his friend's emotions. Kazahaya had always been strange after visions, always wondering what had happened although he had a sense that while he was in the vision he knew exactly what was happening. The images always left him afterwards and he felt cold and alone. It had been particularly bad after dressing up in that schoolgirl's uniform. Although it seemed like a simple job, Kakei had been right in warning him that _he_ was the one in danger.

A strong spirit could consume the medium or burden it; right now, Kazahaya felt a little heavy as if the unknown thing that had happened was still stuck under his skin.

"I could tell you, if you want." The softness in Rikuo's voice surprised Kazahaya. He had never offered to explain the aftermath. Jokes yes, but never a serious discussion.

Not even after he had whispered Tsukiko's name in the theatre...no discussion, no words.

"R-really? You'll tell me? Exactly?" Kazahaya slid forward in his chair at the kitchen table.

"Are you that excited over a stupid vision?" Rikuo downed what was left of his water.

"They're not stupid, Rikuo." He had hit a hot nerve. Without warning, Kazahaya stood and stomped out of the room, but Rikuo was fast and caught his arm, twisting him around with such a grip that the boy cried out a little.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "What's wrong?"

"The visions aren't stupid. Apologize." The command hit Rikuo hard.

"I'm not apologizing for that...kitty-chan." Rikuo smirked and kept his grip on the smaller teen.

"Apologize to me! Say it isn't useless!"

"Useless? What're you talking about? I never said the visions were useless."

Kazahaya seemed to have not heard him. He spat venomously, "I _told_ you to practice."

"Kazahaya!"

"The violin. Don't touch it!" Rikuo then shook Kazahaya to jar him awake. What was he talking about? Violin. Practice. Was this some kind of residual from the vision? Kazahaya stiffened in his arms and let out a soft moan that sent a chill up Rikuo's spine. God, the boy's face was so close to his...his pretty amber eyes rolled into focus and he gazed confused into Rikuo's own.

"I—I don't know what happened." Kazahaya began shivering and Rikuo's instinct was to hold him tighter. The boy gasped at the strength in Rikuo's hands, felt his larger body press against his. He shuddered when Rikuo ran a hand down his back and pulled his hips to his in a kind of lower body kiss.

"Kaza..."

"No," he gasped, "Rikuo, let me go." Kazahaya felt the hardness between Rikuo's legs stab him in his gut. He wiggled out of Rikuo's arms and made for the bathroom, too afraid to look behind him. Rikuo did not follow, much to Kazahaya's relief. He sat on the edge of the bath and wondered why Rikuo had become aroused. Though, Kazahaya conceded, he was a boy too and knew that it was hard to conceal even the slightest arousal. But Rikuo was wearing jeans...it must have been a powerful erection to push out the tight material. Embarrassed by his own thoughts, Kazahaya washed his face and brushed his teeth. He told himself he wasn't stalling at all, just getting ready for bed. The vision had left him unusually strained, and Rikuo hadn't had a chance to explain all the details. At least he could go back to bed for a few hours and mull over everything unconsciously.

He opened the bathroom door and ran into Rikuo.

"Sorry," he said meekly. Rikuo wasn't moving.

"Why did you leave?"

"I, uh, had to use the bathroom?" Note to self, Kazahaya thought, saying something as a question is a sure sign of lying.

"Hmm." Rikuo towered over Kazahaya and gently cupped his face. "You're scared of me?"

"N-no. You're just...why are you being weird?" Rikuo let his hands fall.

"And what am I doing that is so weird?" Kazahaya felt relieved at the tone in Rikuo's voice. Taunting and light, it sounded like Rikuo.

Kazahaya dodged the question a little by muttering, "Uh, touching me and stuff."

"I touch you all the time. Not as much as Saiga does."

"Still. I dunno why." Kazahaya moved around Rikuo easily and stood on his bed to close the morning light coming through the window. The curtains softened the room, darkening it enough for comfortable sleep. He sat on the bed and yawned.

Rikuo seemed to stalk him now as he stood by the bed with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Because I want to."

"Want to what?" Kazahaya asked as he fluffed his pillow. He swung his legs up and pulled the sheets over them.

"Touch you." Determined to do this thing that had entered his mind, Rikuo gripped the edge of Kazahaya's bed as the boy looked at him warily. He lifted himself onto the bed and straddled Kazahaya. His palms lay flat at the head; strands of golden-brown hair tickled his fingers.

"Bastard get off me!" Kazahaya pushed up as hard as he could but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Rikuo lowered himself onto Kazahaya and smirked as his legs fell in between his pinned toy. With only a seductive smile as warning, Rikuo leaned in and kissed his cheek and trailed the touches to his chin and neck. The boy squirmed and cried out at the unfamiliar sensation.

"Rikuo stop." He couldn't push him away. If only he were stronger...

The little pleas only spurred Rikuo on. He pressed his hips into Kazahaya's and got a slight buck as a reaction. So, the kitten could be aroused too. Rikuo ground his hips down again and listened to the mews of uncertain pleasure.

"I'm gonna tell Kakei-san."

"Don't be a baby. It'll feel good, I promise."

"Get off." Those amber eyes were incensed.

"How about..." Rikuo said as he put a hand up his shirt, teasing his belly. "How about I get off...in you." Kazahaya bit his lip as Rikuo began moving his hand further and further down, his heavy body pinning him and grinding him, and God was Rikuo hard beyond belief. Kazahaya bucked up as hard as he could one last time and fell back limp.

"I'll scream." Rikuo's hand had barely touched the downy soft place between Kazahaya's legs before he hesitated. A scream. Kazahaya had the loudest scream of anyone he'd ever met. Saiga would definitely hear. He was sure the man had robotic ears or something. Then again...Rikuo smirked and risked it anyway. He slipped his hand down to Kazahaya's now slightly aroused cock and caressed it a few times before taking away the sensation.

Much to Kazahaya's chagrin, Rikuo had left him hard and confused.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked pitifully. "I thought you were--" He stopped and let out a sob.

"I'm what?"

The boy sobbed softly, releasing a few tears. "My friend."

"I am." Rikuo kissed the tears and moved his mouth to his lips, touching them softly, gently and hesitantly. Of all the things he didn't want to mess up, the kiss was at the top of the list. He pecked the lips until he got a reaction. It wasn't what he expected. Kazahaya turned his head away.

"Friends don't do this."

Rikuo pouted melodramatically, then smiling, he moved his body down until his face was at the waist of Kazahaya's pants. He struggled with the stuck zipper for a moment. Frightened yet aware of Rikuo's mistake, Kazahaya sat up and kneed Rikuo in the jaw. In that second he had seen a way to get out, but the escape was brief and Rikuo had already pinned him back to bed, only now he was face down, his mouth pressed into the pillow to stifle a weak scream. Rikuo had his arms twisted from behind. His shoulders stung and he was sure he was crying because he could feel the tears soaking the pillow.

Then he turned his head to the side and yelled out until his throat was raw.

It was only a moment before Saiga came into the room as if he'd been waiting. Kakei motioned towards Rikuo, who looked at them like a beast protecting a kill.

"Come on, kid. Get off him."

"Rikuo, let Kazahaya go, please." Kakei was beside himself with worry. Saiga calmly walked to Rikuo and gently took his arm. The boy slid off Kazahaya and stood to the side with Saiga.

"Saiga." Kakei only had to say his name and Saiga knew what to do. He ushered Rikuo out of the room while Kakei tended Kazahaya. The boy had managed to sit up. He didn't speak and he seemed very calm for someone who had nearly been raped by a friend.

"Are you okay, Kazahaya?" He nodded yes.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault I didn't realized it sooner. The violin was to blame here, not Rikuo. Not Rikuo..."

Not Rikuo.

_No, never Rikuo._

--

Only a few hours had passed.

Kazahaya heard the door to the apartment click shut from his position at the kitchen table. He stopped eating his breakfast when Rikuo sat with him. Unable to make eye contact, the boy poked at his food.

"Are you going to be comfortable with me?" Rikuo asked uneasily. Kazahaya swirled his fork around his eggs.

"I dunno what you mean," he replied softly.

"I mean, will you ever feel safe with me?"

"It wasn't your fault. It was the violin's spell."

"I know. Won't you at least look at me?" Kazahaya dropped his fork and lifted his eyes up briefly. What he saw was the face of the boy who had attacked him only hours earlier. How could he be okay so soon after? Rikuo was sincere, and he was afraid Kazahaya would hate him for what he had almost done, but as they both knew, it was not his fault. The violin had woven a spell made of notes and rhythms. Unfortunately, the woman who had left with the composition walked away with nothing more than a song. Rikuo had been right. It was a stupid exchange. The real value lay with the violin, not because of its age, but because it was imbued with a magical spell put there by that woman's father years ago.

A love spell meant for his wife, her mother, who had died giving birth to the daughter.

Then the spell became misguided by loneliness and grief. The notes hated the daughter.

_Don't touch the violin_, he had told her. _Practice with the one I bought for you!_

It had nearly misguided Rikuo into a corrupt union with Kazahaya. The violin had sought out the grief in Rikuo's heart left by Tsukiko and tried to fill it with desire for the beautiful child holding it so close to his body. Yes, it recognized the daughter in the room, but now it would be free from her, so the violin poured out its spell with the charming song its master was conceiving before he died.

As a gift to its new player…

"I'm sorry," Rikuo said, "I'm sorry I almost hurt you." Kazahaya nodded his head, not entirely ready for this conversation.

"I think I'm going to lie down for a while." Rikuo stood and halted as he walked by Kazahaya. He spun on his heel and looked down at his friend. Carefully he laid a hand on his shoulder from behind, and slowly leaning down he said, "If we're ever together, I promise to never hurt you."

Rikuo didn't wait for a response. He didn't want to see a response, but if he had peeked around to see Kazahaya's face, he would have seen the slightest of smiles.

--

end?


	3. Telltale

AN: I swear that I am working on "Ready, Set, Go!" but I've been distracted by this and that.

--

"Telltale"

by flying metal child

--

Everyone has a nervous twitch—those little subtle things we do when we're not sure of our next move.

After working with Kazahaya for almost a month, Rikuo discovered his co-worker's nervous twitch. Whenever he was deep in thought, Kazahaya put a crooked finger to his chin. It was a movement that was almost cartoonish, like a character scratching his head to think, but Kazahaya did it often, especially when he was working the aisles at the drugstore. There would be a hesitant pause as he stocked the shelves; perhaps he was thinking too hard about where to put the next box or bottle of cough syrup.

Then there were the times Rikuo asked Kazahaya a question.

He would grin sometimes, finger in place, and answer the query no matter how hard or wrong his response was.

But then something happened after they came back from Suiryo.

The twitch went away almost completely. Rikuo feared the poor boy ceased to think.

And then Rikuo found out why he quit. Kazahaya, who was always able to read other's emotions with precise clarity, had caught on to Rikuo's keen observance of his nervous finger twitch. He because self-conscious when he thought aloud or to himself. The finger would go to his chin and then it would slip away just as quickly as if the chin and the finger were polar magnets.

Those bright amber eyes of his had caught Rikuo staring.

Rikuo wondered if he was being too obvious, too focused on Kazahaya's every little move.

It wasn't that he was watching because he wanted to...he just couldn't help himself.

--

end.


	4. Thief

AN: Mmm...chocolate!

--

"Thief"

by flying metal child

--

Rikuo looked under his bed.

He frowned.

He looked in the closet, in the kitchen, and everywhere else until every crevice of the apartment was checked for the thing Rikuo sought.

Then he looked under his bed again.

"Kazahaya," he growled to himself.

Rikuo played many likely scenarios in which Kazahaya had obviously taken his secret stash of chocolate. Perhaps he had been sweeping and the broom had hit the box, thus revealing itself.

No, Rikuo thought, Kazahaya can barely cook let alone clean.

Maybe Kazahaya was that nosey and actively searched for evidence to blackmail his roommate.

Nope, Rikuo thought again, Kazahaya isn't that devious...besides, he already knows I like chocolate so what would be the point of that?

Then again, Kazahaya can be vindictive. Whenever he gets mad he always does something small to get me back, like putting too much salt in my eggs--

Oh.

Revenge.

That was the only possible explanation for his missing box of candy.

Alone in the apartment, Rikuo stood above his bed and talked aloud. "He's always yelling at me for being a jerk. Idiot." He crossed his arms and looked casually around the room they shared. Torn between getting a momentary sense of vindication by ripping all the sheets off Kazahaya's perpetually unmade bed and getting a fulfilled sense of vindication by torturing Kazahaya until he gave up his sweet loot, Rikuo chose the latter...obviously.

Kazahaya would rue the day that he chose to deprive Rikuo of his candy on his cherished day off.

--

The first thing Kazahaya liked to do after work, especially on those days he worked alone, was take a hot shower. He did so after saying a brief hello to Rikuo as he cooked their dinner. The hot water felt absolutely delicious even though it made his skin turn a nice shade of pink. After dressing, the lure of food was too much to bare; he savored each morsel of Rikuo's carefully cooked fish.

Grinning widely, he thanked Rikuo and complimented his skill.

"Thanks," Rikuo grumbled. Kazahaya didn't notice the unkind response and stretched his arms over his head. Purring like a cat, Kazahaya said he was looking forward to sleeping in the next day. Such was his weekend agreement with Rikuo. You take one day off and I take the next, that way we both work at least one day on the weekend but we still have one day off. Either way, the drugstore only stayed open half a day on the weekends so the work wasn't that much.

Rikuo's anger about having his day off chocolate-free had not abated. Sure, he could have gone downstairs and bought a regular bar of candy, but the chocolate in his box was special. Very, very special. These were the kinds of chocolate bought in specialty stores or ordered on the internet and shipped two weeks later. These were the kinds Rikuo bought when he had saved enough and could spare the indulgence.

The brooding teen spent the day looking for his box, thinking about revenge, wondering what he possibly could have done to warrant such a punishment...

Kazahaya got up from the table and put away his dishes. Rikuo followed but he did not go to bed.

Kazahaya was bent over his bed straightening his sheets when he felt something bump against his back. Surprise turned to anger when he turned to see Rikuo. Asking what the hell was he doing sneaking up on him, Rikuo responded with a very simple (and severe) question.

"Where is my chocolate?"

Kazahaya did not expect that. "Eh?"

"My chocolate! The box that was under my bed...where is it?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, jerk."

"My chocolate." Rikuo gestured with his hands to accentuate his distress. He spelled it out, "C..h..o..c..o..l..a..t..e...do you speak Japanese?"

Huffing, Kazahaya sat on his bed. "I didn't take your chocolate," he said mockingly with his hands.

"I don't believe you."

"Well...you can just suck my--"

--

And with that, Rikuo ended the conversation. Now laying in bed, he tried to calm his nerves.

A hard on for chocolate and for the boy nearby. Why did he have to say something so stupid? Was he trying to give me a nosebleed?

_Yeah, suck his dick. I'll show him...he's just asking for it._

--

"Where did you get that chocolate?"

A shrug.

"Oh...that's Rikuo's favorite. He likes to order a few bars a month. Foreign stuff, really good...can I have a bite?"

"Sure, but you'll have to give me a big kiss first." Saiga grinned with a square of creamy, dark chocolate between his teeth. Returning the eager grin, Kakei leaned in and bit the part sticking out, chomping it in half and taking in Saiga's lips all at once.

_I'm so happy Rikuo loves chocolate..._

_--_

end.


	5. Connoisseur

AN: Another study in Rikuo's love of chocolate. By the way, espresso chocolate is the best.

--

"Connoisseur"

by flying metal child

--

_In which Rikuo is very serious about chocolate..._

"You won't spit it out?"

"No."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Rikuo. Geez, it's just chocolate!"

"I swear to God if you waste my last piece--"

"Rikuo!"

Rikuo swallowed nervously. In his hand he held gold foil, crumpled but not crushed; in this foil was one tiny square of chocolate, dark and rich. Espresso flavored. Delicious. Creamy...

And Rikuo had stupidly agreed to give Kazahaya this last piece. Why? Because the boy expressed a strange curiosity about a candy he didn't particularly favor. A strange, out of the blue curiosity.

"Well, I like coffee," Kazahaya had said. "You never share your candy."

Rikuo was skeptical. He had felt a little guilty. He didn't want to be called stingy or selfish. He hesitated. Kazahaya was looking at him expectantly. Shit. What if Kazahaya developed a taste for chocolate? It ticked something in Rikuo's brain. There were two terrible thoughts in Rikuo's mind now. Oh the terror...

One.

Rikuo was insanely selfish of his fetish and he wanted no one in a ten meter radius to share that desire.

Two.

The fact that there was "Terrible Thought Number One."

That made Rikuo hand over his precious last piece all the faster. It seemed to please Kazahaya to have it in his possession, but Rikuo watched in abject horror as Kazahaya carelessly unwrapped the treat. Didn't he know chocolate had to be savored, even with the first, simple process of revealing said treat? Kazahaya popped it into his mouth and sucked on the little square a few times.

"So?" Rikuo had to ask.

Kazahaya's face scrunched up in distaste. "It's alright," he managed to mumble.

"Here, spit it out." Rikuo held out his hand. "You obviously don't like it, and I don't want to waste it."

Kazahaya rolled his eyes and plucked the candy from his mouth. As soon as the chocolate was in Rikuo's hand, he put it in his mouth and relished the sharp sugar pains in his throat.

"Ew! Rikuo! That was in my mouth."

"So."

"It's gross!"

Rikuo swallowed the last of the chocolate. He couldn't help but smile.

"Are you saying your mouth is gross?"

"No! But it was in my mouth and you ate it!"

"I don't mind. What's the big deal?"

"Well...if I were eating a piece of sushi and spit it out, you wouldn't eat it, now would you?"

"Only if it were sushi I liked."

"That's not the point! You don't eat things that have been in other people's mouths!"

"..."

"See, I'm right." Kazahaya smirked at his debating skills.

_I'm always right_, Kazahaya thought with a grin.

_Ugh, I need to brush my teeth..._

--

end.


End file.
